I'll Stand Out In The Cold
by SaturnNights
Summary: Winter break has begun and Ruby is determined to find out what Weiss is hiding, so much so, that Ruby is willing to go to drastic measures to help her friend, not knowing of Weiss' real dilemma.
1. Ruby's Decision

**Hey everyone. It's been awhile since I've done a RWBY story and I thought it was about time to come back with a new one. I've had this one in mind for a while and I hope you enjoy.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters, they are owned by Rooster Teeth._

* * *

"Weiss, just tell me what's wrong." Ruby plead.

Ruby had been begging her best friend to tell her about what was troubling her.

"I already told you, I'm fine." Weiss said.

Ruby pouted, still not believing a word she told her.

About a month ago, Weiss had begun to act differently towards Ruby.

Her once strict attitude had diminished by a large amount.

Now she had just seemed distant and uninterested.

However, for Weiss, that was far from the truth.

Unknown to Ruby, as well as everyone else, Weiss' feelings for Ruby had developed, from those of a simple friendship, to care, compassion and most of all, love.

Weiss had tried to deny it, trying hard to put her focus back on Ruby's faults, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't.

Weiss was always off daydreaming, which always led to her thinking about Ruby and unfortunately for her, Ruby had caught on.

So, Weiss did the only things she could do, distance herself.

But Ruby wouldn't let this go easily, she was determined to find out why Weiss was being colder than usual.

Yang and Blake entered the room, to see Ruby staring at Weiss and Weiss ignoring her.

"Is this still going on?" Yang complained.

"Yes, until Weiss finally tells me the truth." Ruby said, in determination.

"Never going to happen, because there's nothing to tell." Weiss said.

"Come on you two, it's winter break." Yang made a pun.

Weiss just glared at her while Ruby and Blake groaned.

"The point is, you two should just stop whatever this is and start enjoying yourselves." Yang suggested.

"I can't, not while my best friend is worried about something." Ruby told them.

"Ruby, enough!" Weiss snapped at her.

"What will it take to get you to stop?" Weiss asked.

"Just tell me what's going on with you." Ruby told her.

"Nothing." Weiss said.

Ruby started to grow frustrated, a crazy idea coming to mind.

"Fine, then until you tell me I'll…stand outside until you do." Ruby said.

"What, you'll stand outside the room?" Weiss said, with a little laugh.

"No, I'll stand out in the cold." Ruby said, pointing outside.

"Ruby, you can't do that, the snow is already almost a foot deep, plus it's freezing." Yang pointed out.

"I don't care, I'll wait out there all through break if I have to." Ruby said.

"You'll wait out there for the whole break?" Yang questioned.

"Yes." Ruby said, proudly.

"So, no sledding?" Yang asked.

"No sledding." Ruby said.

"No snowball fights?" Yang asked.

"No snowball fights." Ruby said.

"No cookies?" Yang asked.

Ruby shuddered, forgetting about the fresh baked cookies they made every year.

Ruby hesitated, but was willing to sacrifice for the greater good.

"No cookies." Ruby said, barely getting the words out.

"Weiss, she seems serious, are you sure you don't want to tell her anything?" Yang asked.

Weiss looked over at Ruby, her feelings starting to get to her again.

But as she did before, she pushed those feelings away.

"Good luck." Weiss said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Ruby stormed out of the room and went outside, standing by a tree.

"Weiss, why would you do that?!" Yang shouted at her.

"Relax, knowing her, she'll probably give up by tonight and come back in, bake a batch of those cookies and she'll give up in five minutes." Weiss told her.

Yang sighed before her eyes went red, shooting a glare towards Weiss.

"For her sake and yours, you better hope so." Yang threatened.

Weiss just shrugged it off and went back to her studies.

Yang took a seat on her bed to relax while Blake started to reread one of her books.

Meanwhile, while they were up in the room, Ruby stood next to the tree, already shivering.

 _"So cold." Ruby thought._

Ruby wrapped her cloak around her, hoping it would help.

She looked up at the window, hoping soon that Weiss would tell her the truth, that she could come back inside and for things to be normal again.

 _"Weiss, I don't know what's going on with you, but I promise whatever it is, I'll help you any way I can." Ruby vowed._

So it began, Ruby's long wait through the cold of winter.

The snow fell softly to the ground as Ruby began to sing to herself.


	2. Warmth

**Wow, I don't know what to say. I just want to thank you all for the reception so far, it has been awesome and it really means a lot. As for how Ruby is doing so far, well, let's find out.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters, they are owned by Rooster Teeth._

* * *

Weiss had awoken from her sleep, her head aching, feeling a bit sick.

Weiss slowly made her way out of bed, heading over to the kitchen to get some water, hoping her ailments would fade once she woke up a bit more.

As she did, she noticed it was still dark outside.

Looking at her scroll, she saw it was only three in the morning.

 _"I must have dozed off earlier than I thought." Weiss thought._

After getting a glass of water and attempting to relax for a moment, Weiss returned to the room, noticing something as she did.

Ruby's bed was empty.

Weiss walked over to the bed, finding no indentation in the mattress or any sign that it had been slept in that night.

"There's no way." Weiss whispered, in disbelief.

Weiss rushed over to the window to look outside.

Lo and behold, there was Ruby.

Weiss still couldn't believe it.

 _"How has she stayed out there this long?" Weiss thought._

Ruby was laying down on her left side, by the same tree from earlier, her back against it, to shield from the falling snow.

Ruby's cloak was wrapped around her entire body, covering everything but the area around her eyes.

Her eyebrows and eyelashes had snow between the stands, her cheeks accompanied by frozen tears which seemed to have started to run down.

 _"She really meant it." Weiss thought._

 _"This is going too far, I have to tell her." Weiss figured._

"You can't sleep either?" Someone asked.

Weiss flinched, in surprise, turning around quickly, relieved to see it was only Blake.

"Yeah." Weiss said, turning her gaze to outside once more.

"You really should tell her how you feel." Blake told her.

Weiss looked at Blake again, this time in shock.

"What?" Weiss said.

"It's painfully obvious, the question is, what are you going to do about it?" Blake asked her.

Weiss didn't answer, not knowing how to respond to her friend's claims, despite them being true.

Blake just smirked, putting a hand on Weiss' shoulder as she did.

"Take my advice, don't hesitate on telling someone how you really feel, otherwise, one day you'll realize that you've missed your chance." Blake advises her.

Weiss immediately had taken her words to heart, but had also noticed a small little detail with Blake's eyes.

As Blake was telling her this, Weiss had noticed Blake's eyes drift towards Yang.

 _"It seems I'm not the only one keeping secrets." Weiss thought._

Blake bid her goodnight and returned to bed, all the while Weiss had turned her sights to Ruby again.

Weiss looked down at her, admiring her, frowning as Ruby continued to shiver.

Weiss walked back downstairs, careful not to wake anyone else up, despite the floorboards creaking with every step she took.

Weiss had made it to the den, slowly making her way to the couch.

As she did, she almost let out a gasp of surprise, covering her mouth to avoid it.

She was surprised at the sight of Ruby's uncle Qrow, who was passed out on the couch, mumbling noises in his sleep.

Weiss maneuvered around the couch, seeing what she was looking for underneath Qrow, a blanket.

 _"Sorry, but Ruby needs this right now." Weiss thought._

Weiss leaned down, grabbing the blanket, carefully moving it out, but part of the way, it was stuck.

"No." She whispered.

Weiss went to pull again, but unfortunately for her, she hadn't realized what she was doing, using more of her strength than she had meant to.

She pulled the blanket right out from underneath him, knocking him off of the couch onto the floor.

Weiss booked it out of the room with the blanket, running outside as quick as she could.

Qrow woke up, mumbling incoherent noises as he did.

He looked around, took another drink and then passed out again.

Weiss had made it outside, now sitting by Ruby.

Weiss touched her cheek with her hand, feeling how cold Ruby was.

"I'm sorry Ruby." Weiss whispered to her.

Weiss wrapped the blanket around Ruby, leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"I promise, I'll make this up to you." Weiss whispered, into her ear.

Weiss stood back up and walked away, leaving Ruby for the night, hoping she would be alright.

However, if she had stayed just a second more, she would've noticed the small smile on Ruby's face.


	3. Stubborn and Driven

**Alright, welcome back. The story has gotten more reception since last time, so thank you all for that. As for what the morning will bring for the team, we'll find out now.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters, they are owned by Rooster Teeth._

* * *

Weiss woke up again, this time with the sun shining in her eyes.

She rose her arm to protect her sight and got out of bed, her first instinct telling her to go downstairs to check on Ruby.

Weiss got dressed and went downstairs, only to find Yang making breakfast, while Blake, Qrow, Oscar, Nora, Ren and Jaune awaited her at the table, three seats still vacant.

Weiss took her seat as Yang served the food, noticing Yang's eyes had turned red as she got to Weiss.

Yang took her seat and had the rest of the food, her line of sight directed straight at Weiss.

To say the morning was awkward would be an understatement.

Everyone remained eerily silent throughout the meal, unable to say anything.

Most of them were either waiting for an excuse to leave or for Yang to just snap.

Thankfully neither happened, everyone finished up and they each parted.

As Weiss got up to leave, Yang grabbed her by the arm.

"We need to talk." Yang said.

Weiss nodded in understanding, looking away from her as she did, still a little shamed.

Yang guided Weiss to the door leading outside, both of them looking out there to see Ruby.

"Are you happy, Weiss?" Yang questioned.

"Yang, you know I'm not enjoying this, she chose to do this." Weiss pointed out.

"Yeah, because of your stubborn attitude." Yang said, growing more frustrated.

"No, it's because I have a right to have my own secrets." Weiss told her.

"I thought we agreed, no more secrets or lies, that meant all of us, not just Qrow and Ozpin." Yang brought up.

"This isn't the same, this isn't something that effects us on such a large scale, this is something that I have to deal with, or at least try dealing with." Weiss tried to explain, without giving too much away.

Yang remains quiet for a moment, looking back out at Ruby.

Yang's eyes turn back to normal for a moment.

"Thanks for giving her the blanket." Yang said.

"How did you know it was me?" Weiss asked.

"Blake may have mentioned it." Yang said.

 _"I thought she went back to sleep when I did that!" Weiss thought._

"It was a nice gesture, but she's still out there, all because you won't be honest with her." Yang said.

"Whatever this secret is, is it really worth having Ruby do this?" Yang asked her.

Weiss didn't answer, instead looked at Yang eye to eye, as if attempting to tell her without words.

Yang could see the struggle in Weiss' eyes, feeling some sympathy for her.

But for Yang, her sister's safety came first.

Yang eyes turned red again as she glared at Weiss.

"Just know that if anything bad happens to her because of this, you'll have to deal with me." Yang threatened.

Yang left Weiss there, Weiss contemplating on what to do.

Weiss saw Ruby slowly waking up, the first thing Ruby seeing was Weiss herself.

Ruby smiled, putting a hand to her cheek as if she knew.

Weiss blushed and walked away.

 _"I'll have to tell her eventually, but now is not the time." Weiss thought._

 _"I'll just have to get her to give up." Weiss thought._

Weiss got a grin on her face as she thought of a plan.

"I know just how to do it." Weiss said, proudly.

Weiss headed to the kitchen, pulling out the ingredients to make cookies.

It went just about as one would expect.

Weiss had never cooked in her life, and after it was done, the kitchen was left in shambles, the stove had exploded and Weiss was left with a large mound of burnt dough stuck to a pan.

Yang entered the room, her jaw dropping as she looked at the scene before her.

"What did you do?!" Yang yelled.

Yang then saw the wasted dough and sighed at Weiss' mishap.

"Here, I'll make the cookies, you clean this mess up." Yang ordered.

Weiss complied and the two got to work.

About an hour passes and the cookies are done, Weiss taking the pan out to Ruby, in hopes the smell will lure her back in.

Ruby looks over, starting to drool as she sees them.

"They're yours if you come back to the house." Weiss said.

Ruby started to walk towards her, falling victim to the aroma.

But, Ruby's will broke her from her trance.

Ruby's head shook and went back to the tree, looking away from Weiss.

"Not worth it." Ruby said.

Weiss was surprised, she thought for sure this would break her.

Weiss left the cookies in the den for everyone else.

"Alright, time for the backup plan." Weiss said.

About another hour passes and Weiss heads back outside, this time holding crescent rose.

"Ruby, how would you like to upgrade crescent rose with me, I have some pretty cool additions I have in mind?" Weiss asked, hoping some new technology would convince her.

Ruby looked at crescent rose, holding back her shouts of excitement.

But she knew she would have to give up in order to work with Weiss.

She almost cracked, shaking as if she were in pain, but she wasn't going to give up any time soon.

"Sorry Weiss, I'm not interested." Ruby said, forcing out her words.

Weiss pouted and went back inside, putting crescent rose back in their room.

"No luck I take it?" Qrow spoke up.

"No, I don't understand, I thought for sure this would work." Weiss said.

"Believe me, Ruby may be a bit eccentric, but when she's committed, she'll stop at nothing." Qrow told her.

"She can't stay like this, she's going to make herself sick, or worse." Weiss said.

"Well then, I guess you're just going to have to put your pride aside and tell her how you feel." Qrow said.

Weiss looked at him, in shock from his statement.

"You know?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, I'm not sure I can approve just yet, but it's my niece's decision, just know that Yang won't be the only one you have to deal with if she gets hurt." Qrow said.

Weiss understood, still surprised that Qrow and Blake seemed to know.

 _"Am I that obvious?" Weiss wondered._

As Weiss headed back downstairs, she looked at Ruby once more.

 _"I can't bargain with her, I can't reason with her, there's no getting out of this." Weiss realizes._

With Ruby still out there, there was only one option left.

 _"Fine, she won't come back inside, so I'll just have to go outside." Weiss thought._

So her next effort was set.


	4. Reasons

_Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters, they are owned by Rooster Teeth._

* * *

After her attempts to persuade Ruby to come back inside had proved ineffective, Weiss decided to take a different approach.

Weiss headed outside, taking Ruby by the arm and pulling her along.

"Weiss?" Ruby questioned.

"If you won't come back inside, then at least you can do more than just sit around." Weiss said, trying to sound stern, in order to hide her concern for her.

Ruby smiled, getting out of Weiss' hold and began to walk beside her.

"So what're we doing?" Ruby asked.

"I have some shopping to do today, I figured I may as well take you along." Weiss told her.

Ruby understood, containing her joy from the gesture.

 _"Nice Weiss is the best." Ruby thought._

The two walked around for awhile, taking in the sights and admiring the beauty of the kingdom, Ruby staring in awe the whole way.

Months being in Mistral and she never got to really take a look around.

It really was far off from their homes, Atlas and Patch having such different atmospheres.

Finally, they arrived at the local vendor's area, Ruby immediately trying to rush off to one of the weapons booths.

Weiss held her back by her cloak.

"Easy there, we have the whole day." Weiss said.

Ruby calmed down and the two checked out the different booths together.

It seemed like they had lost track of time, because by the time they were done, they looked around and noticed it was already dark out.

"Wow, time flies, we should probably head back." Ruby said.

"Wait." Weiss spoke up.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"It's not that late and you haven't eaten all day, what do you say we go out to dinner, my treat?" Weiss offered.

Ruby was ready to refuse her offer, when her stomach started growling.

 _"You win." She thought._

"Okay, but I pick the place." Ruby said.

"Deal." Weiss agreed.

Ruby and Weiss made it back into town, Weiss a bit worried about Ruby's choice.

Thankfully for Weiss, Ruby had spotted a small little restaurant that had caught her eye.

It wasn't anything special or fancy but it seemed to be about right for the both of them.

Ruby and Weiss were seated in a booth towards the back and placed their orders.

As they waited, Weiss saw this as the perfect opportunity to get through to Ruby.

"So…how was last night?" Weiss asked, regretting her phrasing as soon as it slipped out.

Ruby laughed a little at her question.

"It actually wasn't that bad, I could even get used to it." Ruby said.

 _"Figures." Weiss thought, smiling in amusement._

"Still, I hope I don't have to." Ruby mentioned.

"Sorry." Weiss said, getting what she meant.

"It's alright." Ruby said.

Weiss stayed quiet for a minute, trying to get back to small talk.

Fortunately, Ruby spoke up before her.

"Hey, I never did ask, what happened to you before you made it to Mistral?" Ruby asked.

Weiss' train of thought broke, memories of her time in Atlas returning to her.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Yes?" Weiss said.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Weiss asked.

"When I mentioned it, you had this strange look on your face." Ruby said.

Weiss sighed, slightly ashamed she was so emotionally readable.

Weiss began to tell Ruby her story of what went on between the fall of Beacon and her return to the team, down to the last detail.

Ruby shuddered as Weiss mentioned her father's actions, ridding her of her title and attempting to lock her away.

Ruby also almost applauded as Weiss informed her of her escape.

"How have we not heard any of this yet?" Ruby questioned.

"It didn't seem fitting to mention at the time, after learning of who Ozpin really was, what happened with Raven and Qrow, plus the fact that we now know the Grimm have a leader, other matters took priority over playing catch up." Weiss explained.

"I guess." Ruby said.

The waiter returned with their food and the two thanked him, Ruby saying it after she had already dug in.

Weiss had her head in her hands.

"What?" Ruby asked.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Weiss said.

"Sorry." Ruby apologized.

Weiss was ready to lecture her again, but let it go as she saw the innocent expression on her partners face, letting out a little laugh.

"What now?" Ruby asked.

"No matter hat happens, you never seem to change, you're still that same immature girl I knew at Beacon." Weiss said.

"Sorry." Ruby apologized again.

"Don't be, it's a good thing." Weiss said.

Ruby looked up at her, curiously.

"Right now, with everything that has happened, I think we need something or in your case, someone, to brighten things up." Weiss said.

Ruby blushed a bit, sliding over to give Weiss a hug.

"Ruby, not here." Weiss complained.

"Come on, you made it a moment." Ruby teased, continuing to hug her.

Weiss rolled her eyes and returned the gesture, letting go just a few seconds later.

Ruby slid back over and went back to eating her food.

 _"I should've held on, at least a little bit longer." Weiss thought._

The evening went on, Ruby and Weiss finishing their dinner and going on to walking back home, the moonlight and stars guiding them.

When they finally got back, Weiss stepped inside, realizing no one was beside her.

Weiss turned around, seeing Ruby out by the tree again.

Weiss opened up the door and glared at Ruby.

"You can't be serious." Weiss said.

"What?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby, you have to come back inside." Weiss told her.

"I told you, I'm not going back in until you've told me what's wrong." Ruby reminded her.

"Ruby, one night is one thing, but this is crazy, you're gonna hurt yourself." Weiss plead.

"Well then, that's the price I pay, I guess." Ruby said.

Weiss grew more frustrated and began to let it out.

"Why are you so obsessed with knowing what's going on with me, why do you need to know?!" Weiss shouted.

Ruby, growing more passionate, tears welling up in her eyes, looked Weiss dead on and spoke.

"Because of what we've lost." Ruby said.

Weiss' scowl instantly turned into a look of confusion.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.

"We shouldn't leave things unsaid." Ruby told her.

"We lost so many people." Ruby whimpered.

Memories of Pyrrha and Penny were flooding back, emotionally wrecking Ruby.

"We never got to say goodbye." Ruby whimpered.

Weiss stepped forward a bit but stopped as Ruby's fists curled up.

"You want to know why I need to know?!" Ruby shouted.

"Because we shouldn't keep how we're feeling from each other, we shouldn't keep hidden the things we want to say to the people we care about, because we might never get another chance!" Ruby screamed, shaking from both the cold and her outburst.

Weiss took another stepped forward as Ruby broken down.

Ruby fell to her knees, starting to cry as the overwhelming emotions had finally gotten to her.

Weiss embraced Ruby in her arms, holding her close as she cried on her shoulder.


	5. Unknown Feeling

**Continuing off from last time, let's see where Weiss and Ruby's situation goes from here.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters, they are owned by Rooster Teeth._

* * *

Weiss had managed to comfort Ruby after her breakdown, calming her down as Weiss sat with her, her arms wrapped around Ruby.

After her tears had stopped falling, Ruby began to grow tired, almost falling asleep.

"Alright, time to get you to bed." Weiss said.

She tried to pick Ruby up, but even half asleep, Ruby would not budge.

"I'm…not…leaving." Ruby said, emphasizing each word.

Weiss tried again, Ruby moving about aimlessly but still remaining in that spot.

Weiss sighed in disappointment.

"Fine, stay here." Weiss said, in a frustrated tone.

Ruby sat outside alone for a good ten minutes before Weiss had returned, surprising her.

Weiss was carrying a set of sleeping bags, which she then began to lay out for the two of them.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked.

"You're obviously more stubborn than I thought, so if you're going to be that way, then you need someone to supervise you." Weiss stated.

Ruby just went along with it, not knowing what to think or feel at the moment.

Once Weiss was done they both slipped into their sleeping bags, staring up at the night sky as the snowfall began to let up.

"Hey, Weiss." Ruby said.

"Yes?" Weiss said.

"Thank you." Ruby said.

Weiss smiled, hiding her blush beneath the sleeping bag.

"You're welcome, and Ruby, even if I do seem distant sometimes, just know I'll always be there for you." Weiss told her.

"I know you will." Ruby said.

"Goodnight, Ruby." Weiss said.

"Goodnight, Weiss." Ruby said.

At that moment, sleep had overtaken both of them.

The two of them resting, side by side, neither one of them knowing where this would lead.

* * *

 **Morning.**

Ruby was the first to wake, a smile appearing on her face as the first sight she saw was Weiss.

Ruby sat up, admiring the sun as it rose.

 _Beautiful." Ruby thought._

Ruby looked back at Weiss, noticing how adorable she looked wrapped in her sleeping bag.

 _"But not as beautiful as her." Ruby thought, entranced by her._

But then, Ruby had realized what she had just thought about her best friend.

 _"Wait, what?!" Ruby thought, in shock._

Ruby shook her head, trying to shake off that train of thought.

 _"Where did that come from?" She wondered._

Ruby looked at her again, this time more closely, wondering why she would think something like that.

 _"I mean, she is cute." Ruby thought, leaning in more._

Ruby hadn't noticed how far she was leaning in or how her eyes were shutting.

She was mere inches away, when Weiss had woken up.

"What are you doing?" Weiss asked.

Ruby's eyes shot open in realization, noticing she was face to face with Weiss.

Ruby fell back, stuttering and smiling nervously.

"N-nothing, I was just going to wake you up." Ruby stuttered.

Weiss looked at her, confused, but she just shrugged it off and got up.

"Well, it looks like I'd better get ready for the day." Weiss told her.

"Okay then." Ruby said.

"Are you ready to come back?" Weiss asked.

"Are you ready to tell me the truth?" Ruby countered.

Weiss looked at her, knowing full well that Ruby would take this to the end.

Weiss sighed, deciding to compromise.

"I can't promise when, but if I promise to tell you, will you stop this and come back?" Weiss asked of her.

Ruby contemplated her offer, trying to make sure that she wouldn't be tricked.

"Weiss, you know how we said that we were getting gifts for each other this year?" Ruby asked.

"Yes." Weiss said.

"I want that to be my gift, I want the truth, it'll give you some time to think." Ruby offered.

Weiss looked at her, both worried and impressed by Ruby's bargaining.

"Very well then, if that's what you want, just please, come back inside." Weiss agreed.

Ruby smiled, running up to Weiss to hug her.

Weiss was hesitant for a moment, but soon returned the hug.

"Thank you, thank you." Ruby said.

Weiss opened the door, Ruby running upstairs to the bathroom, running passed Yang and Blake.

"No hello, no good to see you, no I missed you, just runs straight passed us." Yang tells them.

"To be fair, you try staying outside without a bathroom." Blake pointed out.

"Fair point." Yang said.

Weiss went up the stairs, joining the two of them.

"So, you got her to come back, did you tell her about, you know what?" Blake asked.

"Not yet, I agreed that I would tell her on the holiday as a gift." Weiss told them.

"Wait a minute, Blake knows?!" Yang shouted.

"You told Blake, but not Ruby." Yang complained.

"I didn't tell her, she just knew somehow." Weiss said.

"Well what is it?" Yang asked Blake.

"I can't tell you that, that's for Weiss to say." Blake said.

"Oh come on, tell me." Yang plead.

"No." Blake said, beginning to walk away.

"Tell me." Yang said, following her.

"No." Blake said.

With that, the two talked back and forth as they went downstairs, Yang asking, always getting the same monotone answer of no.

Weiss rolled her eyes, smirking at the two of them.

 _"I give it one more week before they start dating." Weiss thought, returning to her room to change._

Meanwhile, Ruby was lost in thought, the hot water melting away the ice and snow as it ran down.

Ruby was comforted by it, however the warmth of the shower couldn't match what she had felt earlier with Weiss.

Thoughts of Weiss ran through her mind, Ruby wishing she could get as close as they were again, both physically and emotionally.

Ruby stepped out of the shower and wiped the steam off of the mirror, looking at her reflection.

 _"What's going on with me?"_


	6. A Little Push

**Well, Weiss had managed to convince Ruby to come back inside and it also looks like Ruby may have feelings for the ice queen. Where do they go from here? Let's see.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters, they are owned by Rooster Teeth._

* * *

Ruby was the last one downstairs, Yang hugging her as soon as she arrived.

"Don't you ever do something that stupid again, okay?" Yang plead.

Ruby just giggled, returning the hug.

"I make no promises." Ruby teased.

Yang let go and the two joined the others in the living room.

"Tell me." Yang said.

"No." Blake answered back.

Yang was still demanding that Blake tell her Weiss' secret, but Blake would not yield.

Yang was trying every method.

From begging, to annoying, even resorting to bribing her with all the fish she could eat.

That last one almost broke Blake, but Blake's will was strong and she declined Yang's offer.

While this was going on, Ruby had decided to remain close to Weiss.

Ruby would simply sit by and listen, not interrupting, even when Weiss was either lecturing or ranting about something.

Ruby hadn't even brought up Weiss' secret.

She had promised to give Weiss time to think and she was a woman of her word.

However, on Weiss' side, things were a bit different.

With Ruby so close by, Weiss' anxiety and nervousness grew.

While she was able to mask the emotions for now, Weiss felt like she was going to break at any moment.

While Weiss had been studying, Ruby sat right next to her, listening to her every word, scooting closer to her every couple of minutes, until finally they were side by side.

When Ruby rested her head on Weiss' shoulder, at that moment in Weiss' mind, it was game over.

Weiss immediately leapt up, trying to think of an excuse to leave.

"I h-have to g-go out!" Weiss stuttered.

"Oh, well hang on, I'll go with you." Ruby said.

"No!" Weiss blurted out.

Ruby flinched, in surprise.

Weiss caught her mistake and spoke up again.

"I mean, no, I have to get a surprise gift and I don't want anyone to know about it." Weiss said.

"Oh…okay." Ruby said, a little saddened.

"I'll be back later." Weiss said.

Ruby didn't say anything, simply just standing there, her hair hiding her eyes.

Weiss sighed and walked out the door.

 _"She was that close and I did nothing." Weiss berated herself._

Meanwhile, Ruby was still going over the mix of emotions she felt.

Her heart was pounding uncontrollably, she had an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach and she could barely breath.

 _"Why does this happen when I'm around her?" She wondered._

Ruby looked around, hearing the engine starting from her sister's motorcycle.

 _"Yang!" Ruby thought._

Ruby rushed outside to find Yang.

 _"I better go talk to her, she'll probably know what's going on." Ruby figured._

Once Ruby found her, she noticed Yang was still talking with Blake, deciding to listen in on their conversation.

"Alright Blake, final offer, you tell me Weiss' secret and I'll take you around Mistral on bumblebee." Yang told her.

Blake just stood there, not answering or even moving.

Yang gritted her teeth, amazed she would turn down the offer, after all, she thought alone time with her was priceless.

However, Ruby on the other hand was taken aback by Yang's statement.

 _"Blake knows." Ruby thought._

"Alright Blake, what gives?" Yang asked, putting a hand on her shoulder, only for Blake to disappear.

Both looked on in surprise for a second, figuring out what Blake had done.

"Stupid shadow image." Yang muttered.

From there, Yang started to head back inside, ready to find Blake and prepared to start begging again.

Ruby stepped out, walking over to talk with Yang.

"Yang." Ruby said.

"Oh, hey sis, what's up?" Yang asked.

Ruby hesitated, standing there nervously while stuttering out noises.

"Ruby?" Yang asked, confused.

"Yang, could we talk up in our room for a moment, alone?" Ruby asked.

Yang noticed Ruby's tone was both serious and nervous.

"Sure, I'll be right up." Yang said.

Ruby nodded and headed to their room, awaiting Yang, hoping she would be able to answer the questions that were driving her crazy.

* * *

 **Meanwhile.**

Weiss had gone back to the vendor's area, finding most of them were closed due to the heavier snowfall.

The few that were still open had nothing that interested her, going out of her way to find a gift for Ruby.

That's when she saw it.

Stepping up to a vendor's tent that contained mostly junk and old trinkets, she saw something that had caught her eye.

A decal for weapons, with illustrations of white roses.

For some reason, it had just stuck out to her.

 _"I hope she likes it." Weiss thought._

She payed the vendor her Lien and set out for home.

"I told you she would like it." The vendor said.

"I guess you were right." Blake said, stepping out of the shadows.

"Why are you trying to set your friends up anyway?" The vendor asked.

"I'm sure they can handle it themselves, but sometimes, they do need a push in the right direction." Blake told him.

Blake thanked the vendor for his cooperation and walked off, prepared for what was to come.


	7. A Talk With Yang

**Ruby may not know what she is feeling, but surely with Yang's help she can finally understand…maybe.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters, they are owned by Rooster Teeth._

* * *

Ruby and Yang were sitting on opposite beds, facing each other, waiting for the other one to speak up first.

A few minutes passed, both of them trying to get their words out, but not knowing how to start.

Finally, Yang's curious nature got the better of her and she just blurted out her question.

"What's this all about?" Yang asked.

Ruby lowered her head, hiding her face in embarrassment.

"It's about Weiss." Ruby said.

"Weiss?" Yang said, intrigued.

"I thought you two made up?" Yang asked.

Immediately, Yang's eyes turned red, as she thought Weiss had done something to sadden Ruby again.

"Yang, calm down, she didn't do anything wrong, we're both fine." Ruby tried to convince her.

Yang calmed down and sat back down, going back to asking questions.

"Alright, so what happened?" Yang asked.

Ruby hesitated, the blush creeping up on her face, the shade matching her hood.

"Well…I…kind of…started feeling weird, earlier this morning?" Ruby said, nervous as to where it was going.

"What do you mean, weird?" Yang asked, still unknowing where this was leading to.

"Well, Weiss offered to stay outside with me last night." Ruby said.

"Yeah I know, Blake and I saw you through the window." Yang told her.

Ruby pouted when she heard that but decided to ignore it for now and continued.

"Well, when I woke up that morning, I saw her, but she looked different." Ruby said.

"Different, how?" Yang asked.

"I don't know how to explain it, but when I saw her, it's like she got a lot more…attractive." Ruby said.

The words rang out in Yang's mind, finally seeing where this was going, but still not sure until she heard it from Ruby herself.

"What did you feel when you saw her?" Yang questioned, further.

"It was kind of like everything all at once, calm, warm, nervous, frightened, but mostly, I felt happy." Ruby tried to describe it.

Yang nodded along, knowing full well where Ruby was going with this.

"Then, the strangest thing happened, I started leaning closer to her." Ruby said.

At that moment, Yang's train of thought shifted, now targeted at Weiss.

 _"I'll have to have a little chat with the ice queen later." Yang thought, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth._

"We were close, but then she woke up and then of course, she offered to tell me the truth and I came back." Ruby said.

"But afterwords, I still felt strange, I couldn't get Weiss off my mind and I wanted to be as close as we were out there." Ruby finished.

"Yang, what's wrong with me?" Ruby asked.

Yang walked over, taking a seat next to Ruby and hugged her to comfort her.

"Nothing is wrong with you Ruby, you're perfectly fine." Yang told her.

"But then, what's going on?" Ruby asked.

Yang got a sly grin on her face, looking at Ruby with the intent to tease her about this.

"It looks like someone's in love." Yang said.

* * *

 **Meanwhile.**

Weiss had returned, trying to subtly make her way upstairs to hide Ruby's present.

That went about as well as one would expect.

"What's that?!" Nora shouted.

Weiss flinched in surprise, almost dropping the present, her reflexes stopping that from happening.

"Oh, is that a present for me?!" Nora asked, rushing towards Weiss.

Weiss fended her off with one arm while holding the present in the other.

"Nora, leave her be." Ren said.

Nora backed off, still trying to go for the present.

"Easy, this is my gift to Ruby." Weiss told her.

Nora groaned in disappointment, walking over to Ren, pouting her lips while hunching over.

Weiss rolled her eyes and proceeded upstairs, overhearing Ruby and Yang's conversation.

"I don't know how to explain it, but when I saw her, it's like she got a lot more…attractive." Weiss overheard Ruby speaking.

 _"Attractive?" Weiss thought._

Weiss listened further as Yang questioned Ruby and Ruby describing her confused emotions.

However, Weiss only had one question on her mind.

 _"Who was this girl?" Weiss thought._

All Weiss could feel was jealousy of whoever this was, whoever made Ruby fall head over heels in love.

But it seemed that luck wasn't on her side in this moment, as she backed away right before Ruby told Yang about Weiss waking up and how she would tell her the truth.

Weiss took a few deep breaths, trying to regain her composure before she would walk in.

She wiped away a stray tear as it ran down her cheek and put on a small smile.

Weiss opened the door and walked in, Ruby and Yang's glances instantly directed at her.

Weiss pretended to look confused.

"Am I interrupting something?" Weiss asked.

"No, just giving Ruby some advice." Yang said.

"Don't worry, we'll talk later." Yang said, leaving the two of them alone.

Ruby twiddled her thumbs, whistling a tune, looking for a way out of the situation.

When nothing came to mind, Ruby noticed Weiss hiding something behind her back.

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

Weiss slipped the gift under her pillow.

"Just a present, I don't want anyone to see it yet." Weiss said.

"Oh, okay." Ruby said.

"So, other than that, how did the shopping trip go?" Ruby asked.

"Other than the freezing cold, it was kind of peaceful." Weiss thought, remembering her thoughts of Ruby.

Weiss looked at Ruby, saddened by whoever had stolen her heart first.

"That's good to hear, I bet whoever that gift is for will love it." Ruby said.

Weiss just nodded along, going along with whatever Ruby was saying.

Unknown to either of them, both Blake and Yang were peering through the door.

"I take it Ruby also likes Weiss?" Blake whispered.

"Yeah…wait, what do you mean also?" Yang whispered.

"You seriously haven't figured it out by now?" Blake whispered.

Yang pondered it for a moment, the realization hitting her.

"Wait…Weiss likes Ruby?" Yang whispered.

"Yep." Blake whispered.

"Well then, this is great, Weiss tells her the truth and they get together, problem solved." Yang said.

"True, but something tells me it's going to be a bit more complicated than that." Blake whispered.

Yang sighs.

"It always is." Yang whispered.


	8. One Simple Answer

**It seems the time is here. The day has arrived. With joy in everyone's hearts and in a few, anxious feelings, it's time for the moment of truth.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters, they are owned by Rooster Teeth._

* * *

As morning had arrived, Nora and Ruby were the first ones to wake up.

They leapt out of bed, excitedly moving around their rooms.

"Wake up!" They both shouted.

The two of them rushed downstairs, with the biggest smiles on their faces.

Everyone walked downstairs at their own pace, drowsy but still excited.

"This is going to be the best nondescript winter holiday yet!" Nora exclaimed.

Ruby looked around, seeing Weiss still hadn't come downstairs yet.

"Weiss." Ruby called.

No answer or Weiss herself.

"Weiss!" She called louder.

Still nothing.

"She wanted to give you your present in private, I'd head up there." Yang told her.

Ruby nodded in understanding and went upstairs, eagerly awaiting what Weiss had been keeping secret this whole time.

Once Ruby reached her room, she saw Weiss sitting on her bed, her head hung low.

"Hey Weiss." Ruby said.

Weiss looked up, a sad smile on her face when she saw the redhead.

Weiss reached under the pillow and pulled out a present.

"I know you wanted a different kind of gift, but I figured I'd get you something anyway." Weiss said, handing her the gift.

Ruby smiled excitedly as she tore away the paper wrapping.

Ruby opened the box, revealing the decal Weiss had bought.

Ruby admired its beauty, the illustrations of the white roses almost bringing a tear to her eye.

Ruby couldn't get the words out, settling for a hug to say all she needed to say.

Weiss returned the gesture, both of them feeling each other's heartbeats go crazy.

Both of them backed off, hiding their blushes.

"So…do you have something to tell me?" Ruby asked.

Weiss still cast her glance away, debating back and forth on whether or not to tell her.

 _"You've held on to this long enough, just tell her." Weiss thought._

 _"But what if she says no, your friendship will be ruined?" Weiss questioned._

 _"Besides, she has feelings for someone else." Weiss figured._

This went on for a good minute or two, only being broken when Ruby would speak up again.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked.

Weiss couldn't take it anymore, running out of the room to avoid her.

"Weiss, wait!" Ruby called out.

Weiss had run out of the house, not looking back even once.

As Ruby arrived downstairs, Yang stopped her to find out what was happening.

"What's going on?" Yang asked.

"I don't know, one minute we were fine and the next she's trying to get away from me." Ruby said.

"Did Weiss tell you?" Yang asked.

"No, she ran when I asked and…hang on, since when do you know?" Ruby asked, confused.

"I found out a few days ago, but that's not important right now, what matters is talking to Weiss." Yang told her.

"I would if she didn't run away." Ruby said.

"Don't worry, she couldn't have gotten far, you can probably catch up to her with your speed." Yang said.

Ruby was about to speed off, when Yang stopped her once more.

"It looks like you're going to make the first move." Yang said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I mean, you have to tell her how you feel about her, maybe then she'll open up to you." Yang told her.

Ruby considered it, thinking it was worth a shot.

"But, what do I tell her?" Ruby asked.

Yang smiled and let go of Ruby.

"Everything." Yang said.

Ruby nodded, one simple answer being the only thing she needed.

With that, Ruby set out to find Weiss.

Blake placed a hand on Yang's shoulder.

"It seems like you're pretty good at being romantic." Blake said.

"Yeah, who knows, maybe I'll make a certain someone as happy as they will be?" Yang said.

Blake looked at her as Yang gave her a wink and went off to join the group.

Blake watched as Yang walked away, admiring her as she did.

 _"Maybe I didn't miss my chance after all." Blake thought._

* * *

 **Back to Ruby.**

Ruby had managed to catch up to Weiss, seeing her in the distance as she trudged through the snow.

"Weiss!" Ruby called out.

Weiss turned around, seeing the redhead right behind her.

"Ruby, what are you doing out here?!" Weiss said, in concern.

"I came here to find you, come on, let's go back." Ruby said.

Weiss stood there for a moment, uttering two words to her.

"I'm sorry." Weiss said.

Ruby, upon hearing this held her close.

"It's okay." Ruby said.

"No, it's not, I made a promise and I just couldn't do it." Weiss said, staring to cry.

"It's alright." Ruby tried to reassure her.

"But, there is something I need to say to you, and hopefully after I've said it, you'll be okay with telling me." Ruby told her.

"O-okay." Weiss stuttered.

Ruby took in a breath, trying to calm her nerves.

Right then, Ruby would say everything, all that she would ever need to in order to tell her, all in one simple answer.

Ruby held Weiss close to her once more and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I love you."


	9. Out In The Cold, Together

**Just wanted to thank everyone one more time. This story was a lot of fun to write and all of you made it even better.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters, they are owned by Rooster Teeth._

* * *

Ruby stood there, leaning on the windowsill as she stared out at the night sky.

She sighed happily as Weiss wrapped her arms around her, leaning her head on her shoulder.

"What are you thinking about?" Weiss asked.

"Just the way things are, I guess." Ruby said.

Weiss let her go and stood next to her, leaning on the windowsill, beside her as she stared out into the night as well.

Ruby froze up a bit, with Weiss so closer to her.

It had only been about a week since she had confessed to Weiss.

She was honestly still in shock that Weiss had felt the same, even more so when Weiss kissed her.

But they had welcomed it, both figuratively and literally, with open arms.

"Hey, Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, Ruby?" Weiss responded.

"You ever wonder why we're here?" Ruby asked.

Weiss didn't even need a minute to answer.

"Not anymore." Weiss said.

Ruby looked at her, confused.

"I have my reason why, standing right next to me." Weiss said, patting Ruby on the head.

Ruby blushed, her blush only getting worse with what happened next.

"How adorable." Yang said, showing up from out of nowhere.

Yang started making kissing noises and teasing Ruby.

"Yang, will you grow up?" Weiss complained.

"No way, I've been waiting so long to mess with her over this." Yang told her.

"Yang leave her be, need I remind you, she's not the only one here who's in love you know?" Blake said.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Ruby asked, now interested.

"Forget it, it's nothing." Yang said, her tone now more hectic.

Ruby smirked, feeling she had won some sort of battle.

"Still, just know I really am happy for you." Yang said, genuinely.

"Thanks, sis." Ruby said, giving her a hug.

As Ruby was hugging Yang, she turned her sights to Blake, who was looking back at Ruby.

Ruby gave her a little knowing wink and then broke the hug with Yang.

"Well, I don't know about all of you, but I'm gonna crash, goodnight." Yang said, plopping down onto the bed.

Blake and Weiss were preparing for bed, when Ruby stopped Weiss.

"What's wrong?" Weiss asked.

"Nothing, just come with me." Ruby said, pulling Weiss out of the room.

Ruby and Weiss went downstairs, Ruby leading her outside.

Weiss was surprised, finding a blanket and two pillows set up.

"Ruby, what's this?" Weiss asked.

Ruby stood there, twiddling her fingers, nervously.

"Well, I know it's cold, but I kind of liked sleeping out here, with you." Ruby said.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to do it again?" Ruby asked.

Weiss didn't even hesitate, laying down on the snow and pulling the blanket over her.

Ruby smiled and lays down next to her, cuddling up to her.

As they lay there, both are captivated by each other, entranced by each other's eyes.

Weiss was lost in Ruby's gleaming eyes, the silver shade reflecting the beauty around her, as well as enhancing her own.

Weiss leaned in, capturing Ruby's lips with her own.

Ruby returned the kiss, holding Weiss closer to her.

As Weiss broke the kiss and caught her breath, she looked at Ruby with passion and affection.

"I love you." Weiss said.

"I love you too." Ruby said.

Ruby initiated one more kiss, only breaking it as sleep began to set in.

As the two of them rested in each other's arms, the snow continued to fall.

They didn't care, they had each other to keep themselves safe and warm.

It was funny how everything had worked out, but with them, nothing was ever simple.

What started as a determined girl's wish to help her friend, ended in an unexpected romance.

But in a way, she had helped her friend and in the end, they became something more.


End file.
